Woman Wasn't Told She Was Participating in an Active Shooter 'Drill'

That's certainly a terrible way to conduct such an exercise.

Dick Elbers / Wikimedia Commons

A Coloardo nursing home worker is suing her employer and the Carbondale Police Department for emotional distress after they staged an active shooter drill without telling her that the threat was fake.

From NBC 9 News:

In a complaint received by 9NEWS Tuesday, Meeker claims she was taken hostage by a man with a gun while at work at the assisted living center in Carbondale. Meeker says the gunman held her against her will while she begged for her life.

According to the complaint, what she did not know at the time was that the man with the gun was a Carbondale police officer, and it was all a part of an active shooter drill that was taking place.

Meeker claims that she was not informed of the training and suffered severe mental and emotional distress since the incident.

If her side of the story is accurate, that's certainly a terrible way to conduct such an exercise.

I reached out to the police department for comment. An officer referred me to the department's lawyer; I haven't heard back from him yet. I will update this story if that changes.

Comments

[tarran]

And if she had put a knife in the vitals of the cop taking her hostage, what would they have done to her?

[Cloudbuster]

Ignorance is no excuse for defying your betters. Prison time!

[Corning]

I think Colorado has pretty good gun rights.

What if she shot the cop hostage taker?

Dollars for donuts she would have been shot and if not killed would have been brought up on charges.

[sarcasmic]

When I lived in Colorado the burden of proof for a carry permit was on you. The only person knew with one was a wealthy business owner who had personal friends in the department. That was almost twenty years ago. A quick google says it's a shall issue state now.

[Wasteland Wanderer]

It was pretty decent until a year or so ago, when they panicked and implemented mag-caps and universal background checks in response to Sandy Hook. That got several politicians recalled and tossed out on their ass, and now the governor is running scared, so maybe things will change after this year's elections...

[Episiarch]

I have to say, anyone who comes up with such a drill and thinks that it's somehow a good thing to do is either retarded, malicious, retarded, or super-retarded. First of all, you do this to the wrong person and people end up dead. Secondly, it's going to be scary as shit for anyone not in on the "joke".

Basically, if you even come close to thinking this is a good idea, you should be fired on the spot.

[MegaloMonocle]

Yep. I got nothin' to add.

And, yep, this sure looks like kidnapping, false imprisonment, and a whole shitload of other crimes. As no law was being enforced here, I see no basis for sovereign immunity, either. This is all "without color of authority".

[MJGreen]

And just think: these super-retards rule the night.

[dantheserene]

A couple of these incidents have made the news, presumably others have not. I don't know how no one has been shot or at least maimed by a "victim".
It's like those stupid videos done in Europe where an evil clown is chasing someone with a giant hammer or otherwise scare people. They don't do that in shall issue states. I also don't understand why no one at least kicks the shit out of the guy in the costume at some point, including after they've been let in on the "joke".

[Corning]

How is this not kidnapping?

[Christophe]

It's done by the police?

[a better weapon]

FYTH

[Almanian!]

Carbondale Police Department - stay classy!

[Heroic Mulatto]

One is reminded of how the young men of Sparta would get their jollies by sneaking to the countryside in darkness to murder serfs with impunity.

[SQRLSY One]

The Crypteia sound SOOO much like the DEA, KGB, FBI, FDA, Gestapo, NEA, FCC, TSA, F-452, BR549, and an endless alphabet soup of Government Almighty Do-Gooders, that somehow... I think nothing ever changes. Democracy, Schmemocracy, it all just does NOT matter any moah...

[Rich]

Because the safety of the residents, associates and their families at Heritage Park Care Center is our top priority, we conduct routine safety drills to prepare for any type of situation we might face. ... Unfortunately, the training exercise alarmed some at our facility. We have reassured everyone that the situation was safe and controlled.

Just stop already with this damage-control bullshit. Save it for the trials.

[MegaloMonocle]

Sorry, but if you had a cop with a gun in his hand in your building, I'm not willing to say the situation was not "safe and controlled" without knowing a lot more about the cop.

[MegaloMonocle]

Extra "not" there. Sorry. Feeling negative.

[a better weapon]

And at an assisted living center of all places! If I had a relative at this place, they'd be somewhere else already.

I don't want Grandma dead from a heart attack before the holidays because her facility let's the cops play make believe without warning.

[sarcasmic]

For the cop, holding someone at gunpoint as they begged for their life was just another day at the office.

[Pope Jimbo]

That is what impresses me the most about this cop. He had the chops to get so into character that he became an actual hostage taker and let her live.

You know his real cop-self was screaming to shoot the hostage so that the bad guy wouldn't have his shield anymore. But he resisted and kept her safe until the end of the exercise.

[Pl?ya Manhattan.]

the gunman held her against her will while she begged for her life.

Drill or not, that sounds like a crime to me. Several crimes, actually.

[Corning]

Several crimes, actually.

I already called Kidnapping.

I think assault would be one as well.

Lets list the ones we think fit the bill.

1. Kidnapping
2. Assault
...

[Rich]

*** waves hand ***

Oh, oh, I know another!

*Rape!*

[MegaloMonocle]

False imprisonment, too.

All with firearms add-ons.

[Atanarjuat]

Cops like to play dress-up good guys vs bad guys. But when an actual shooter shows up, what happens? In Connecticut, they cowered outside until he was out of ammo and used the last bullet on himself. Then waited an additional 5 minutes before going in, just to be sure there was no "active shooter". NEVER FORGET

[sarcasmic]

Yet they're more than happy to storm an apartment to serve a warrant against a non-violent offender.

[Paul.]

Priorities.

[mikheil]

You've got to think like a gun prohibitionist. To sway public opinion you need maximum horror on the news. It doesn't serve them to quickly take out an active shooter and save people.

[AlmightyJB]

If you're holding me hostage, I will kill you at the slightest hint of opportunity.

[twoskinsoneman]

You guuuuuys... come on. Remember 9/11?
We have to let these Nazis do this stuff for national security. If you think these pigs or any others have ever done anything wrong your probably a domestic terrorist.

[Jeramy]

I overheard some memebers of the student council at the community college I go to talking about doing an active shooter drill without telling anyone. I reminded them that in Oregon it is legal to concealed carry on campus and that would probably end horribly.

[Wayne]

Someone at the home should have been told that the police were doing a drill, and gave the police permission to do it. In this type of drill people really need to be informed about what is going on.